【Summary】
In rugby, the generation of junior and senior high school student in Fukuoka Prefecture has the top level of competitiveness in this country, and the quality of coaching staff is also high. Oceania is a region where powerful squads such as Fiji, the Olympic champion of Tokyo2020 men’s rugby-football, Australia and New Zealand are competed in this region. On the other hand, however, there are so many small island countries where it is difficult to even organize a team. Therefore, by inviting children from this region to play in a joint team, Fukuoka Rugby Football Union organized rugby festa to have valuable experience for children who want to experience the world stage competition but do have actually slim opportunity to do so, and for children who have no experience of playing rugby. This project could not only promote the game of rugby in the future, but trigger the interest in and affection to Japan and international exchange for the children.

【Project Objective】

“The Asia Oceania Rugby Festa” started as a legacy of the Rugby World Cup 2019, the first time Rugby World Cup in Asia, with the aim of promoting the sport in Asia, a backward region for rugby.
International exchange event through sport had to be suspended for two years due to the worldwide spread of the Covid-19. However. Fukuoka Rugby Football Union decided to hold a Rugby festa considering the countries and areas in Asia and Oceania that are less developed in rugby football. It was also intended to implement the project not only to promote the rugby in the future, but also to have an opportunity to exchange the opinion about sport environment of each country and that can contribute to SDG 10 by considering what actions participants need to take.

【Activities/projects】

(1) Asia Oceania Rugby Festa

Period：20 January (Friday) to 23 January (Monday), 2023

Place：Global Arena （Munakata City, Fukuoka Prefecture）

Invited countries：Thailand, Bangladesh and Australia

Contents：Teams from Thailand, Bangladesh, Australia and Japan gathered to exchange through rugby, including matches. The exchange also included cultural experiences, social events and a city walk in Fukuoka city.

(2) Strengthening the leadership skills of Fukuoka Prefecture’s rugby coaches

Rugby coaches from Fukuoka Prefecture were invited to attend a coaching seminar and workshop at the Australian New South Wales Association to learn coaching techniques and to improve their coaching skills.

【Outcome】

〇 The event provided an opportunity for children to transcend language and culture, enjoy exchanges and cultural exchanges through rugby, and acquire cross-cultural understanding and a global perspective.

〇 By aiming to promote rugby, the event provided an opportunity to understand each other, which is a characteristic of rugby (sport), and proved that the sport is an effective tool for connecting people with each other.

〇 Four coaches from Fukuoka Prefecture received high-quality coaching skills from top-level coaches at the Australian New South Wales Association and learnd about leadership development based on open strategies. Based on this, they will be used in the training of rugby coaches and player development in Fukuoka Prefecture, and efforts will be made to develop a proactive attitude towards the sport among players themselves, which trigger to consider SDGs goals.

〇Through the dispatching four coaches to Australia, coaching skills and practical skills were acquired and then shared with other coaches in Fukuoka Prefecture, enabling the establishment of a system that can provide high-quality coaching to players of all ages in Fukuoka.

HP：https://www.rugby-fukuoka.jp/

Facebook：https://www.facebook.com/Asia.Oceania.Rugby.Exchange.Fest

Instagram：https://www.instagram.com/asiaoceaniarubgy/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR07QTfxz2yXd_3KiU3-2Yd4E9oSXEl3kFVKjq1tR-FSta-Hsj-ycqHATv0_aem_jDxvxll4sNgHZch9cWwM2Q